Information processing device, information processing method, and information processing program

ABSTRACT

An information processing device includes a control unit configured to store in a recording medium a piece of attribute information specified by a user input from among a plurality of sequential pieces of the attribute information in association with a predetermined time period of a content stored in the recording medium.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/793,239, entitled “INFORMATION PROCESSING DEVICE, INFORMATIONPROCESSING METHOD, AND INFORMATION PROCESSING PROGRAM,” filed Jun. 3,2010, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No.2009-139447, filed Jun. 10, 2009. Each of the documents listed above isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an information processing device, aninformation processing method, and an information processing programthat are suitable for recording a content, for example.

2. Description of the Related Art

There have been proposed recording/reproducing devices, such as adigital video camera and a hard disk recorder, that detect an excitingscene based on information including a sound level of a moving image andrecord the scene detected (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined PatentApplication Publication No. 2007-116566).

There have also been proposed such recording/reproducing devices thatrecord a favorite point specified by a user at the time of recording themoving image in association with the moving image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There may be a case in which the user wants to check various parts ofthe moving image when it is reproduced, for example, to check onlyimportant parts, or to check parts where a certain person appears.

However, such a device as described above can make its reproduction unitreproduce only a few seconds before and after the exciting scene or thefavorite point, and may not be able to reproduce moving imagessatisfying various requests of the user.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide an information processing device,an information processing method, and an information processing programcapable of reproducing contents satisfying various requests of the user.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided acontrol unit that stores in a recording medium a piece of attributeinformation specified by a user input from among a plurality ofsequential pieces of the attribute information in association with apredetermined time period of content stored in the recording medium.

By associating the attribute information specified with respect to eachpredetermined time period of the content as described above, at the timeof reproduction, a part with which an arbitrary piece of the attributeinformation is associated can be extracted from the content andreproduced by a reproduction unit.

Furthermore, by letting a plurality of pieces of the attributeinformation have sequentiality, at the time of the reproduction, notonly the part of the content with which the arbitrary piece of theattribute information is associated but also a part of the content withwhich an arbitrary range of the attribute information is associated canbe extracted and reproduced by the reproduction unit.

In this manner, a desired part can be extracted from the content andreproduced only by letting the user specify the desired piece or rangeof the attribute information, and the extracted part of the content canbe changed to another desired part of the content to be reproduced onlyby changing the specification.

Therefore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, aninformation processing device, information processing method, andinformation processing program capable of reproducing contentssatisfying various requests of the user can be achieved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of aninformation processing device that outlines embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the hardware configuration of adigital camera;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams for explaining a setting of afavor level according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a favor level setting procedure accordingto the embodiment;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic diagrams for explaining a favoritereproduction according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a favorite reproduction procedureaccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a setting of a personattribute according to another embodiment;

FIGS. 8A and 82 are schematic diagrams for explaining a reproductionbased on the person attribute according to the embodiment;

FIGS. 9A and 9B are schematic diagrams for explaining anotherreproduction based on the person attribute according to the embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for explaining a setting of the favorlevel according to a first modification;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining another setting of thefavor level according to a second modification;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for explaining still another setting ofthe favor level according to a third modification;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining a correction of the favorlevel according to a fourth modification; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram for explaining a setting of attributeinformation according to a fifth modification.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Best modes (referred to below as embodiments) for carrying out thepresent invention will be explained below in the following order.

1. Embodiment (an example of setting a favor level)

2. Another embodiment (an example of setting a person attribute)

3. Modifications

1. Embodiment 1-1. Outline of an Embodiment

First, an outline of an embodiment is explained. After the outline isexplained, a specific example of the embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 1 shows the functional configuration of an information processingdevice 1 that outlines the embodiment. The information processing device1 includes a control unit 2. The control unit 2 is configured to storein a recording medium 3 a piece of attribute information specified by auser input among a plurality of sequential pieces of the attributeinformation in association with a predetermined time period of a contentstored in the recording medium 3.

By the configuration described above, the information processing device1 can extract a part of the content associated with an arbitrary pieceof the attribute information to be reproduced by a reproduction unit. Byletting a plurality of pieces of the attribute information havesequentially, at the time of reproduction, the information processingdevice 1 can extract not only the part of the content with which thearbitrary piece of the attribute information is associated but also apart of the content with which an arbitrary range of the attributeinformation is associated and make the reproduction unit reproduce theextracted part of the content.

In this manner, at the time of reproduction, the information processingdevice 1 can extract a desired part from the content and reproduce itonly by letting the user specify the desired piece or range of theattribute information, and the information processing device 1 canextract and reproduce another desired part of the content instead onlyby changing the specification. Thus, the information processing device 1can make the reproduction unit reproduce the contents satisfying variousrequests of the user.

The information processing device 1 basically configured as describedabove may also include the following configurations.

The information processing device 1 may include an output unit 4 thatoutputs the content stored in the recording medium 3 and a receptionunit 5 that receives the user input. In this case, the control unit 2may be configured to store in the recording medium 3 a piece ofattribute information specified by the user input received by thereception unit 5 in association with a predetermined time period of thecontent while letting the output unit 4 output the content.

Furthermore, the information processing device 1 may be configured sothat the reception unit 5 receives a touch operation performed on thedisplay surface of a display unit 6 as the user input. The control unit2 may be configured to store in the recording medium 3 a piece ofattribute information specified by the touch operation in associationwith a predetermined time period of the content.

Moreover, the information processing device 1 may include a reproductionunit 7 that reproduces only the part of the content associated with theattribute information specified by the user input based on the attributeinformation associated with the predetermined time period of thecontent.

Furthermore, the information processing device 1 may include an imagingunit 8, and the output unit 4 may be configured to output a moving imagetaken by the imaging unit 8 as the content.

A specific example of the information processing device 1 configured asdescribed above is explained below in detail.

1-2. Hardware Configuration of Digital Camera

In FIG. 2, a reference numeral 10 denotes a digital camera, which is aspecific example of the information processing device 1 described above.

The digital camera 10 performs various processings by a centralprocessing unit (CPU) 11 loading a computer program stored in a readonly memory (ROM) 12 to a random access memory (RAM) 13, and controlseach constituent in response to an input signal from a touch screen 14or an operation unit 15.

The touch screen 14 is provided on the display surface of a liquidcrystal display 16, and, when an arbitrary point on the touch screen 14is touched by a finger, the touch screen 14 detects a coordinate of thetouched point (i.e., a touch point). The touch screen 14 then transmitsan input signal corresponding to the coordinate of the touch point tothe CPU 11.

The touch screen 14 is configured to keep transmitting the input signalindicative of the coordinate of the touch point to the CPU 11 at apredetermined time interval as long as it is touched.

Upon obtaining the coordinate of the touch point from the input signaltransmitted from the touch screen 14, the CPU 11 recognizes what pointis touched on the liquid crystal display 16 by converting the coordinateinto a screen coordinate on the liquid crystal display 16.

The CPU 11 also recognizes the way the touch point moves (i.e., a traceof the touch point) by converting the coordinate of the touch pointobtained from the input signal transmitted at the predetermined timeinterval into the screen coordinate on the liquid crystal display 16.

The CPU 11 then determines what touch operation is performed on whatpoint on the screen based on the touch point and its trace recognized asdescribed above.

The operation unit 15 is a device including a zoom lever (TELE/WIDE), ashooting button, a power button, and a mode switch button, and transmitsto the CPU 11 an input signal corresponding to an operation of pressingeach one of them.

The CPU 11 determines which one of the zoom lever, the shooting button,the power button, and the mode switch button is operated based on theinput signal transmitted from the operation unit 15.

When the CPU 11 is instructed to switch an operation mode to a shootingmode by the operation on the mode switch button in the operation unit15, the CPU 11 actually switches the operation mode to the shootingmode.

When the mode is switched to the shooting mode, the CPU 11 controls amotor driver 17 to drive an actuator 18, thereby exposing a lens unit 19from a housing of the digital camera 10. The CPU 11 also adjusts anaperture of the lens unit 19 and moves a focus lens by driving theactuator 18.

At the same time, the CPU 11 controls a timing generator (TG) 20 tosupply a timing signal to an imaging device 21 including a chargecoupled device (CCD) and the like. By operating based on the timingsignal, the imaging device 21 converts a light emitted from a subjectand taken in through the lens unit 19 into an electric signal (i.e.,photoelectric conversion) to obtain an analog image signal and supply itto an analog-digital converter (also referred to as an A/D converter)22.

The A/D converter 22 obtains a digital image signal by performing ananalog-digital conversion (A/D conversion) on the transmitted analogimage signal, and supplies it to a digital image signal processing unit23, under the control of the CPU 11.

The digital image signal processing unit 23 performs a digital signalprocessing (noise removal and the like) on the transmitted digital imagesignal, and supplies it to the liquid crystal display 16, under thecontrol of the CPU 11. As a result, the liquid crystal display 16displays an image of the subject as a monitoring image. Thus, thedigital camera 10 allows the user to check an image of the subject.

At this time, the digital image signal processing unit 23 generates agraphics signal including an icon and a button and superimposes thegraphics signal on the digital image signal, under the control of theCPU 11. As a result, the liquid crystal display 16 displays the icon andthe button along with the monitoring image.

Suppose the shooting button in the operation unit 15 is pressed down inthis state. The CPU 11 then recognizes that the shooting button ispressed down from the input signal transmitted from the operation unit15 in response to the pressing of the shooting button, and startsrecording a moving image.

That is, the digital image signal processing unit 23 generates movingimage data by compressing the digital image signal transmitted from theA/D converter 22 in a predetermined moving image format under thecontrol of the CPU 11.

A microphone 24 obtains an analog audio signal by converting collectedsound into an electric signal, and supplies the analog audio signal toan A/D converter 25. The A/D converter 25 obtains a digital audio signalby performing the A/D conversion on the transmitted analog audio signal,and supplies the digital audio signal to a digital audio signalprocessing unit 26, under the control of the CPU 11.

The digital audio signal processing unit 26 generates audio data bycompressing the digital audio signal transmitted from the A/D converter25 in a predetermined audio format under the control of the CPU 11.

The CPU 11 then generates a video/audio data by multiplexing the audiodata with the moving image data generated by the digital image signalprocessing unit 23, and stores the video/audio data in a storage unit27.

When the shooting button is pressed down again, the CPU 11 terminatesrecording the moving image. In other words, the CPU 11 completesrecording a series of the video/audio data from the start to the end ofthe shooting. The CPU 11 then stores the video/audio data in the storageunit 27 as a moving image file by adding header information to it. Inthis manner, the digital camera 10 records a moving image.

The header information of the moving image file may include, forexample, a file name of the moving image file, recording date and time(i.e., shooting date and time), length of the moving image (i.e., timelength), and the like.

The CPU 11 also manages all the moving image files stored in the storageunit 27 using a single moving image management file stored in thestorage unit 27.

The moving image management file contains the file name, the shootingdate and time, the time length, favor level setting information (to bedescribed later), and the like with respect to each moving image filestored in the storage unit 27 as management information.

In other words, the CPU 11 is configured to add the managementinformation of a new moving image file to the moving image managementfile every time a new moving image file is stored in the storage unit 27(i.e., every time a moving image is recorded).

The management information of each moving image file contained in themoving image management file is associated with each moving image filestored in the storage unit 27 by the file name.

The storage unit 27 may be, for example, a nonvolatile memory of a fewgigabytes to tens of gigabytes, such as a recording medium built in thedigital camera 10 in advance, or a removable recording medium to beinserted in the digital camera 10 like a memory card.

On the other hand, when instructed to switch the operation mode to areproduction mode through the operation unit 15, the CPU 11 switches theoperation mode to the reproduction mode.

The CPU 11 reads a moving image file specified through, for example, thetouch screen 14 from the storage unit 27, and separates the moving imagedata and the audio data from the moving image file. The CPU 11 thensupplies the moving image data to the digital image signal processingunit 23, and the audio data to the digital audio signal processing unit26.

The digital image signal processing unit 23 obtains the image signalbefore compression by decompressing the transmitted moving image data inthe same moving image format as used when it was compressed, andsupplies the image signal to the liquid crystal display 16, under thecontrol of the CPU 11. As a result, the liquid crystal display 16displays the moving image (reproduction image) corresponding to theselected moving image file.

At the same time, the digital image signal processing unit 23 generatesa graphics signal including the icon and the button, and superimposes iton the digital image signal, under the control of the CPU 11. As aresult, the liquid crystal display 16 displays the icon and the buttonalong with the reproduction image.

The digital audio signal processing unit 26 obtains the audio signalbefore compression by decompressing the transmitted audio data in thesame audio format as used when it was compressed, and supplies the audiosignal to a speaker 28, under the control of the CPU 11. As a result,the speaker 28 outputs a sound corresponding to the selected movingimage file. Thus, the digital camera 10 reproduces the moving image andthe sound.

The CPU 11 of the digital camera 10 is the hardware corresponding to thecontrol unit 2 of the information processing device 1 described earlier.The storage unit 27 of the digital camera 10 is the hardwarecorresponding to the recording medium 3 of the information processingdevice 1 described earlier. The liquid crystal display 16 of the digitalcamera 10 is the hardware corresponding to the output unit 4 and thedisplay unit 6 of the information processing device 1 described earlier.The CPU 11 and the touch screen 14 of the digital camera 10 are thehardware corresponding to the reception unit 5 of the informationprocessing device 1 described earlier. The digital image signalprocessing unit 23 of the digital camera 10 is the hardwarecorresponding to the reproduction unit 7 of the information processingdevice 1 described earlier. The lens unit 19 and the imaging device 21of the digital camera 10 are the hardware corresponding to the imagingunit 8 of the information processing device 1 described earlier.

1-3. Setting of Favor Level

The digital camera 10 is configured so that a favor level can be set tothe moving image with respect to each predetermined time period (forexample, one second) while recording the moving image. The favor levelindicates how much the user likes the moving image, and it can bespecified by the user through the touch screen 14.

The setting of the favor level is described below in detail. Uponswitching the operation mode to the shooting mode, the CPU 11 displays amonitoring image Mp on the liquid crystal display 16 as shown in FIG.3A.

When the user presses the shooting button, the CPU 11 starts recording amoving image. At the same time, the CPU 11 displays a slider bar S1 thatallows the user to specify the favor level superimposed on themonitoring image Mp in a long rectangular shape so that its long axisindicate vertical directions.

The slider bar S1 is provided with a slider St1 capable of moving in thevertical directions. When the user touches the slider St1 through thetouch screen 14, the CPU 11 moves the slider St1 up and down in responseto a drag operation (an operation of moving a finger while touching thescreen) of the user.

The slider bar S1 is configured to specify the favor level in units of,for example, “0.1” in a range between, for example, “+3” and “−3” by theuser moving the slider St1 through the touch screen 14.

The slider bar S1 is calibrated in units of “1” from “+3” to “−3” sothat the location of the slider St1 indicates what value of the favorlevel the user specifies.

The higher value the favor level is, the higher favor level is; thelower value the favor level is, the lower favor level is. “0” indicatesthat the favor level is neither high nor low (that is, neutral).

Based on the location of the slider St1 on the slider bar S1, the CPU 11sets the favor level of the moving image currently recorded with respectto each predetermined time period.

For example, at the beginning of recording the moving image, the CPU 11displays the slider St1 at the location of, for example, a tick mark “0”on the slider bar S1 as a default as shown in FIG. 3A. The CPU 11 setsthe favor level of the predetermined time period of the moving imagefrom the start of the recording of the moving image to “0”.

In other words, for example, as long as the slider St1 is located at thetick mark “0” on the slider bar S1, the CPU 11 keeps setting the favorlevel to “0” with respect to each predetermined time period of themoving image.

Furthermore, when the CPU 11 recognizes that the slider St1 has moved tothe location of, for example, the tick mark “+2” on the slider bar S1 asshown in FIG. 3B, the CPU 11 recognizes that the user specified thefavor level “+2”. The CPU 11 then sets the favor level of thepredetermined time period of the moving image from the time point atwhich the slider St1 moved to “+2”.

In other words, for example, as long as the slider St1 is located at thetick mark “2” on the slider bar S1, the CPU 11 keeps setting the favorlevel to “2” with respect to each predetermined time period of themoving image.

Although the range of the favor level is between “+3” and “−3” in thisembodiment, the range may be variable to be set according to a requestfrom the user.

When the CPU 11 starts recording the moving image, the CPU 11 alsodisplays a graph GL1 indicative of transition of the favor level withrespect to each predetermined time period superimposed on the monitoringimage Mp along with the slider bar S1.

In the graph GL1, a vertical axis indicates the favor level, and ahorizontal axis indicates elapsed time since the start of the recordingof the moving image. Each tick mark on the vertical axis indicates thefavor level, for example, in units of “1”, and each tick mark on thehorizontal axis indicates, for example, five seconds. The rightmost endof the horizontal axis indicates the present time, and the leftmost endindicates, for example, three minutes before the present time.

In the graph GL1, the transition of the set favor level is indicated bya heavy line L1. The CPU 11 scrolls the graph GL1 to the left every timea predetermined time passes so that the rightmost end keeps showing thepresent time.

For example, FIG. 3A shows the graph GL1 at the time of startingrecording the moving image. Because the favor level is not yet specifiedby the user at the time of starting recording the moving image, the CPU11 indicates the favor level at “0” in the graph GL1.

FIG. 3B shows an example of the graph GL1 at the time point of, forexample, three minutes thirty seconds after starting recording themoving image. The graph GL1 displayed at this time indicates thetransition of the favor level with respect to each predetermined timeperiod between the elapsed times of thirty seconds and three minutesthirty seconds after the start of the recording.

FIG. 3B shows a state in which the slider St1 is located at the tickmark “+2” on the slider bar S1, i.e., the state in which the userspecifies the favor level “+2”. Therefore, the CPU 11 sets the favorlevel at this time to “+2”, and displays the graph GL1 so that therightmost end of the heavy line L1 indicates the favor level “+2”.

As described above, the CPU 11 is configured to set the favor level ofthe moving image currently recorded in real time with respect to eachpredetermined time period corresponding to the operation of the sliderSt1, while recording the moving image. The CPU 11 is also configured todisplay the transition of the favor level with respect to eachpredetermined time period on the liquid crystal display 16 in real timecorresponding to the setting.

1-4. Favor Level Setting Procedure

An operation procedure for setting the favor level (also referred tobelow as a favor level setting procedure) RT1 described above isexplained below with reference to FIG. 4. The favor level settingprocedure RT1 is performed by the CPU 11 of the digital camera 10according to the computer program stored in the ROM 12.

When the CPU 11 recognizes that the shooting button is pressed down bythe user, the CPU 11 initiates the favor level setting procedure RT1 andmoves to Step SP1.

At Step SP1, the CPU 11 starts recording a moving image, displays theslider bar S1 superimposed on the monitoring image Mp, and moves to StepSP2.

At Step SP2, the CPU 11 recognizes the location of the slider St1 on theslider bar S1, and moves to Step SP3.

At Step SP3, the CPU 11 sets the favor level for a predetermined timeperiod of the moving image from the present time based on the locationof the slider St1 on the slider bar S1, and moves to Step SP4.

At Step SP4, the CPU 11 generates the favor level setting informationincluding the set favor level associated with the time period for whichthe favor level is set (i.e., the predetermined time period from thepresent time). The CPU 11 then temporarily stores the favor levelsetting information in the RAM 13, and moves to Step SP5.

At Step SP5, the CPU 11 determines whether a predetermined time haspassed since the location of the slider St1 was recognized at Step SP2.

If the result of the determination at Step SP5 is negative, the CPU 11returns to Step SP5 and waits until the predetermined time has passedsince the location of the slider St1 was recognized.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination at Step SP5 ispositive because the predetermined time has passed since the location ofthe slider St1 was recognized, the CPU 11 moves to Step SP6.

At Step SP6, the CPU 11 determines whether the shooting button ispressed again by the user to instruct to terminate recording the movingimage.

If a negative result is obtained at Step SP6, the CPU 11 returns to StepSP2 to perform Step SP2 to Step SP6 again.

On the other hand, if a positive result is obtained at Step SP6 by beinginstructed to terminate recording the moving image, the CPU 11 moves toStep SP7.

At Step SP7, the CPU 11 terminates recording the moving image, andstores the moving image in the storage unit 27 as a moving image file.The CPU 11 also stores the favor level setting information generatedwith respect to each predetermine time period in the moving imagemanagement file along with the file name of the moving image file andthe like as the management information of the moving image file. The CPU11 then terminates the favor level setting procedure RT1.

By the favor level setting procedure RT1 as described above, the CPU 11sets the favor level for each predetermined time period of the movingimage until the recording of the moving image is terminated.

1-5. Favorite Reproduction

The digital camera 10 is also configured to reproduce the moving imagebased on the favor level set during the recording of the moving image.The reproduction of the moving image based on the favor level (alsoreferred to as favorite reproduction) is explained below.

When the CPU 11 reproduces a moving image selected by the user throughthe touch screen 14 in the reproduction mode, the CPU 11 displays areproduction image Rp on the liquid crystal display 16 as shown in FIG.5A. At the same time, the CPU 11 also displays a slider bar S2 thatallows the user to specify a threshold of the favor level forreproducing the moving image (also referred to below as a favoritereproduction threshold) superimposed on the reproduction image Rp.

The slider bar S2 is provided with a slider St2 capable of moving in thevertical directions in response to the user operation through the touchscreen 14 as in the above-described case of setting the favor level.

The slider bar S2 is configured to specify the favorite reproductionthreshold in the same range as in the above-described case of settingthe favor level, i.e. in the range between “+3” and “−3”, by the usermoving the slider St2 through the touch screen 14.

The slider bar S2 is also calibrated in units of “1” from “+3” to “−3”so that the location of the slider St2 indicates the value of thefavorite reproduction threshold the user specifies.

The CPU 11 sets the favorite reproduction threshold based on thelocation of the slider St2 on the slider bar S2.

For example, when the CPU 11 recognizes that the slider St2 is locatedat the location of, for example, a tick mark “+1” on the slider bar S2as shown in FIG. 5A, the CPU 11 recognizes that “+1” is specified by theuser as the favorite reproduction threshold. The CPU 11 then sets thefavorite reproduction threshold to “+1”.

The CPU 11 then reproduces only parts of the content with the favorlevel no lower than “+1” skipping parts of the content with the favorlevel less than “+1” based on the favor level set to the moving imageunder reproduction.

For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, assume that the favor level is set to“+1” or higher between elapsed times of one minute fourteen seconds andone minute thirty-two seconds and between the elapsed times of twominutes thirty-three seconds and two minutes forty-eight seconds of themoving image under reproduction. In this case, the CPU 11 skips to theelapsed time of one minute fourteen seconds, reproduces the moving imagebetween the elapsed time of one minute fourteen seconds and one minutethirty-two seconds, skips to the elapsed time of two minutesthirty-three seconds, and reproduces the moving image between theelapsed times of two minutes thirty-three seconds and two minutesforty-eight seconds.

As a result, the user can watch the part of the moving image of whichthe favor level is no lower than the specified value of “+1”.

In this manner, the CPU 11 is configured to extract and reproduce thepart of which the favor level is set no lower than the favoritereproduction threshold from the moving image under reproduction.

The CPU 11 also sets the favorite reproduction threshold to, forexample, “+2” when it recognizes that the slider St2 moved from the tickmark “+1” on the slider bar S2 to the tick mark “+2” during thereproduction of the moving image. The CPU 11 then extracts only theparts of which the favor level is set no lower than “+2” from the movingimage and reproduces it.

As described above, the CPU 11 is also configured to change the favoritereproduction threshold when the slider St2 is moved by the useroperation through the touch screen 14 during the reproduction of themoving image.

1-6. Favorite Reproduction Procedure

An operation procedure of the favorite reproduction (also referred tobelow as a favorite reproduction procedure) RT2 described above isexplained below with reference to FIG. 6. The favorite reproductionprocedure RT2 is performed by the CPU 11 of the digital camera 10according to the computer program stored in the ROM 12.

When instructed to reproduce a moving image through the touch screen 14,the CPU 11 initiates the favorite reproduction procedure RT2 and movesto Step SP101.

At Step SP101, the CPU 11 starts reproducing the moving image, displaysthe slider bar S2 superimposed on the reproduction image Rp, and movesto Step SP2.

At Step SP102, the CPU 11 reads out the favor level setting informationstored in the moving image management file, and moves to Step SP103.

At Step SP103, the CPU 11 determines whether stop of the reproduction ofthe moving image is instructed through the touch screen 14 or whetherthe moving image has been reproduced to the end.

If a negative result is obtained at Step SP103, the CPU 11 moves to StepSP104.

At Step SP104, the CPU 11 recognizes the location of the slider St2 onthe slider bar S2, and moves to Step SP105.

At Step SP105, the CPU 11 sets the favorite reproduction threshold basedon the location of the slider St2 on the slider bar S2, and moves toStep SP106.

At Step SP106, the CPU 11 determines whether the favor level set for thecurrent reproduction point is equal to or higher than the favoritereproduction threshold based on the favor level setting information readfrom the moving image management file.

If a positive result is obtained at Step SP106, it means that the movingimage at the current reproduction point should be reproduced, and theCPU 11 moves to Step SP107 in this case.

At Step SP107, the CPU 11 determines again whether stop of thereproduction of the moving image is instructed through the touch screen14 or whether the moving image has been reproduced to the end.

If a negative result is obtained at Step SP107, the CPU 11 returns toStep SP104 to recognize the location of the slider St2 again.

On the other hand, if a negative result is obtained at Step SP106because the favor level set at the current reproduction point is lowerthan the favorite reproduction threshold, it means that the currentreproduction point of the moving image should not be reproduced. In thiscase, the CPU 11 moves to Step SP108.

At Step SP108, the CPU 11 skips the reproduction point to a time pointat which the favor level is set no lower than the favorite reproductionthreshold based on the favor level setting information read from themoving image management file, and returns to Step SP103.

If a positive result is obtained at Step SP103 or Step SP107 eitherbecause the stop of the reproduction of the moving image is instructedor because the moving image has been reproduced to the end, the CPU 11terminates the reproduction of the moving image, and terminates thefavorite reproduction procedure RT2.

By the favorite reproduction procedure RT2 as described above, the CPU11 extracts only the part for which the favor level is set no lower thanthe favorite reproduction threshold from the moving image and reproducesthe extracted part of the moving image until the reproduction of themoving image is terminated.

1-7. Operation and Effect of the Embodiment

In the configuration described above, the CPU 11 of the digital camera10 sets a favor level specified by the user input with respect to eachpredetermined time period of the moving image being recorded, among aplurality of sequential favor levels such as “+1”, “0”, “−1”, . . . .The CPU 11 also stores the favor level associated with the predeterminedtime period of the moving image being recorded in the storage unit 27.

At the time of reproducing the moving image, the CPU 11 makes thedigital image signal processing unit 23 extract only a part with whichthe favor level no lower than the threshold of the favor level specifiedby the user input is associated from the moving image and reproduce thepart of the moving image.

In this manner, the digital camera 10 can make the digital image signalprocessing unit 23 extract the desired part from the moving image andreproduce it only by letting the user specify the desired threshold ofthe favor level. The digital camera 10 can also make the digital imagesignal processing unit 23 extract and reproduce another desired part ofthe moving image instead only by letting the user change thespecification.

The CPU 11 also displays the slider bar S1 having a slider St1 capableof moving in the vertical directions in response to the drag operationperformed by the user through the touch screen 14 on the liquid crystaldisplay 16 while displaying the recorded moving image on the liquidcrystal display 16.

The CPU 11 also sets the favor level with respect to each predeterminedtime period of the moving image being recorded based on the location ofthe slider St1 on the slider bar 81.

Thus by setting the favor level based on the user input received whiledisplaying the moving image being recorded on the liquid crystal display16, the CPU 11 allows the user to specify the favor level while checkingthe moving image currently recorded.

Furthermore, the CPU 11 allows the user to specify the favor level by anintuitive operation because the CPU 11 is configured to set the favorlevel based on the location of the slider St1 capable of moving in thevertical directions in response to the user operation.

Moreover, the CPU 11 displays the transition of the favor level set forthe moving image recorded to this moment with respect to eachpredetermined time period on the liquid crystal display 16 in the formof a graph along with the corresponding moving image.

In this manner, the digital camera 10 allows the user to easily checkthe transition of the favor level set to this moment with respect toeach predetermined time period while checking the moving image currentlyrecorded.

According to the above configuration, the digital camera 10 stores thefavor level specified by the user input among a plurality of sequentialfavor levels in the storage unit 27 in association with eachpredetermined time period of the moving image.

In this manner, the digital camera 10 can extract the part of the movingimage with which the favor level no lower than the threshold specifiedby the user input at the time of reproducing the moving image and makethe digital image signal processing unit 23 reproduce it. The digitalcamera 10 can also make the digital image signal processing unit 23extract and reproduce another desired part of the moving image insteadonly by letting the user change the specification.

Thus, the digital camera 10 can make the digital image signal processingunit 23 perform the reproduction of the moving image satisfying variousrequests of the user.

2. Another Embodiment

Another embodiment of the present invention will be explained below.Unlike the embodiment described earlier, the digital camera 10 accordingto the other embodiment is configured to set a person attribute withrespect to each predetermined time period of the moving image. Theperson attribute indicates to which person the user pays attention withrespect to each predetermined time period of the moving image, and itcan be specified by the user through the touch screen 14.

The other embodiment is identical to the embodiment described earlierexcept that the person attribute is set instead of the favor level, andtherefore the duplicate explanation of the hardware configuration of thedigital camera 10 (FIG. 2) is omitted.

2-1. Setting of Person Attribute

The setting of the person attribute is described below in detail. Thedigital camera 10 according to the other embodiment is registered withperson names of, for example, two persons input by the user in advanceas the person names used as the person attribute. It is assumed herethat, for example, “Baby A” and “Baby B” are registered as the personnames.

When the user presses down the shooting button, the CPU 11 startsrecording the moving image and, as shown in FIG. 7, displays a sliderbar S3 that allows the user to specify the person attribute superimposedon the monitoring image Mp.

The slider bar S3 is provided with a slider St3 capable of moving in thevertical directions in response to the user operation through the touchscreen 14 as in the above-described case of setting the favor level.

The slider bar S3 is configured to specify the person attribute by theuser moving the slider St3 through the touch screen 14. Specifically,the slider bar S3 is configured to specify any one of three personattributes “Baby A”, “Baby B”, and “Both” indicative of both “Baby A”and “Baby B”.

The CPU 11 sets sequentiality of the three person attributes “Baby A”,“Baby B”, and “Both” centered at “Both” to be either “BabyA”>“Both”>“Baby B” or “Baby A”<“Both”<“Baby B”.

For example, when the sequentiality “Baby A”>“Both”>“Baby B” is set,tick marks respectively indicative of “Baby A”, “Both”, and “Baby B” inthe order from the top are displayed on the slider bar S3.

The person attribute “Baby A” is specified, for example, when the userpays attention to “Baby A” alone, and the person attribute “Baby B” isspecified, for example, when the user pays attention to “Baby B” alone.The person attribute “Both” is specified, for example, when the userpays attention to both “Baby A” and “Baby B”.

The CPU 11 sets the person attribute with respect to each predeterminedtime interval of the moving image being recorded based on the locationof the slider St3 on the slider bar S3.

For example, at the beginning of recording the moving image, the CPU 11displays the slider St3 at the location of, for example, the tick mark“Both” on the slider bar S3 as a default. The CPU 11 then sets theperson attribute of the predetermined time period of the moving imagefrom the start of the recording of the moving image to “Both”.

In other words, for example, as long as the slider St3 is located at thetick mark “Both” on the slider bar S3, the CPU 11 keeps setting theperson attribute to “Both” with respect to each predetermined timeperiod of the moving image.

Furthermore, when the CPU 11 recognizes that the slider St3 has moved tothe location of, for example, the tick mark “Baby A” on the slider barS3, the CPU 11 recognizes that the user specified the person attribute“Baby A”. The CPU 11 then sets the person attribute of the predeterminedtime period of the moving image from the time point at which the slidermoved to “Baby A”.

In other words, for example, as long as the slider St3 is located at thetick mark “Baby A” on the slider bar S3, the CPU 11 keeps setting theperson attribute to “Baby A” with respect to each predetermined timeperiod of the moving image.

When the person attribute is set, the CPU 11 generates person attributesetting information including the set person attribute associated withthe time period for which the person attribute is set (i.e., thepredetermined time period from the present time). When the recording ofthe moving image is terminated, the CPU 11 stores the person attributesetting information in the moving image management file as themanagement information of the moving image file.

When the CPU 11 starts recording the moving image, the CPU 11 alsodisplays a graph GL2 indicative of transition of the person attributewith respect to each predetermined time period superimposed on themonitoring image Mp along with the slider bar S3.

In the graph GL2, a vertical axis indicates the person attribute, and ahorizontal axis indicates elapsed time since the start of the recordingof the moving image. Each tick mark on the vertical axis indicates theperson attribute “Baby A”, “Both”, and “Baby B” in the order from thetop, and each tick mark on the horizontal axis indicates, for example,five seconds. In the graph GL2, the person attributes set in the pastare also indicated by a heavy line L2.

As described above, the CPU 11 is configured to set the person attributeof the moving image currently recorded in real time with respect to eachpredetermined time period corresponding to the operation of the sliderSt3, while recording the moving image. The CPU 11 is also configured todisplay the transition of the person attribute with respect to eachpredetermined time period on the liquid crystal display 16 in real timecorresponding to the setting.

2-2. Reproduction Based on Person Attribute

The digital camera 10 is also configured to reproduce the moving imagebased on the person attribute set during the recording of the movingimage. The reproduction of the moving image based on the personattribute is explained below.

When the CPU 11 reproduces a moving image selected by the user throughthe touch screen 14 in the reproduction mode, the CPU 11 displays thereproduction image Rp on the liquid crystal display 16 as shown in FIG.8A. At the same time, the CPU 11 also displays a slider bar S4 thatallows the user to specify a value of the person attribute forreproducing the moving image (also referred to below as a reproductionperson attribute value) superimposed on the reproduction image Rp.

The slider bar S4 is provided with a slider St4 capable of moving in thevertical directions in response to the user operation through the touchscreen 14 as in the above-described case of setting the personattribute.

The slider bar S4 is displayed with the tick marks respectivelyindicative of “Baby A”, “Both”, and “Baby B” in the order from the topso that any one of the three person attributes “Baby A”, “Baby B”, and“Both” can be specified as in the above-described case of setting theperson attribute.

The CPU 11 sets the reproduction person attribute value based on thelocation of the slider St4 on the slider bar S4.

For example, when the CPU 11 recognizes that the slider St4 is locatedat the location of, for example, the tick mark “Baby B” on the sliderbar S4 as shown in FIG. 8A, the CPU 11 recognizes that “Baby B” isspecified by the user as the reproduction person attribute value. TheCPU 11 then sets the reproduction person attribute value to “Baby B”.

The CPU 11 then reproduces only parts of the moving image where theperson attribute is set to “Baby B” skipping parts of the moving imagewhere the person attribute is set to either “Baby A” or “Both” based onthe person attribute set for the moving image under reproduction, asshown in FIG. 8B.

As a result, the user can watch the part of the moving image where “BabyB” is paid attention to.

Furthermore, when the CPU 11 recognizes that a double tap operation (anoperation of performing a tapping operation two times in a row, thetapping operation being an operation of touching the touch screen 14 andleaving it immediately) is performed on the slider St4, the CPU 11displays an arrow AR directed upward on the slider St4 as shown in FIG.9A.

At this time, as soon as the CPU 11 recognizes that the slider St4 islocated at the location of, for example, the tick mark “Both” on theslider bar S4, the CPU 11 sets the reproduction person attribute valueto no lower than “Both” (i.e., “Both” and “Baby A”).

That is, the digital camera 10 is configured to set the reproductionperson attribute value no lower than the person attribute correspondingto the location of the slider St4 when the arrow AR directed upward isdisplayed.

The CPU 11 then reproduces only parts of the moving image where theperson attribute is set no lower than “Both” (i.e., “Both” and “Baby A”)skipping parts of the moving image where the person attribute is set to“Baby B” based on the person attribute set for the moving image, asshown in FIG. 9B.

As a result, the user can watch the part of the moving image where “BabyA” is paid attention to and the part of the moving image where both“Baby A” and “Baby B” are paid attention to.

Furthermore, when the CPU 11 recognizes that the double tap operation isperformed on the slider St4 in a state where the arrow AR is directedupward, the CPU 11 displays the arrow AR directed downward on the sliderSt4.

At this time, as soon as the CPU recognizes that the slider St4 islocated at the location of, for example, the tick mark “Both” on theslider bar S4, the CPU 11 sets the reproduction person attribute valueto no higher than “Both” (i.e., “Both” and “Baby B”).

That is, the digital camera 10 is configured to set the reproductionperson attribute value no higher than the person attribute correspondingto the location of the slider St4 when the arrow AR directed downward isdisplayed.

The CPU 11 is configured to hide the arrow AR when the CPU 11 recognizesthat the double tap operation is performed on the slider St4 in a statewhere the arrow AR is directed downward.

As described above, the CPU 11 is configured to allow the user tospecify a single person attribute or a range of person attributes as thereproduction person attribute value, and extract the part to bereproduced where the person attribute is set to the reproduction personattribute value from the moving image under reproduction.

2-3. Operation and Effect of the Embodiment

In the configuration described above, the CPU 11 of the digital camera10 sets a person attribute specified by the user input with respect toeach predetermined time period of the moving image being recorded, amonga plurality of person attributes to which sequentiality “BabyA”>“Both”>“Baby B” is set. The CPU 11 also stores the person attributeassociated with the predetermined time period of the moving image beingrecorded in the storage unit 27.

In this manner, at the time of reproducing the moving image, the digitalcamera 10 can extract the part of the moving image with which the personattribute specified by the user input is associated and make the digitalimage signal processing unit 23 reproduce the extracted part of themoving image.

The digital camera 10 can also make the user specify not only “Baby A”but also a range no lower than “Both” (i.e., “Both” and “Baby A”) as theperson attribute by letting a plurality of person attributes havesequentiality at the time of reproducing the moving image.

Thus, the digital camera 10 can extract a desired part from the movingimage and reproduce it only by letting the user specify the desiredperson attribute or the desired range, and it can also extract andreproduce another desired part of the moving image instead only bychanging the specification.

As described above, the digital camera 10 can make the digital imagesignal processing unit 23 perform the reproduction of the moving imagesatisfying various requests of the user.

In addition to the above, the digital camera 10 according to theembodiment can produce substantially same effects as those of thedigital camera 10 according to the embodiment described earlier.

3. Modifications 3-1. First Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to set thefavor level of the predetermined time period of the moving image fromthe present time according to the location of the slider St1 on theslider bar S1.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the favor level ofthe predetermined time period of the moving image from a time point backin the past.

For example, the transition of the actual location of the slider St1 isindicated by a dashed line Lr1 and the transition of the set favor levelis indicated by a heavy line L1 in FIG. 10.

In this case, for example, because the slider St1 moves to the locationof the tick mark “+2” on the slider bar S1 at the elapsed time of threeminutes twenty seconds, the CPU 11 sets the favor level of thepredetermined time period from, for example, three minutes fifteenseconds, which is five seconds going back from that time point, to “+2”.

Because the user often concentrates on shooting during the shooting ofthe moving image, the user may move the slider St1 not on the verymoment but a few moments after finding a favorite scene.

Therefore, by setting the favor level for the predetermined time periodof the moving image from the time point in the past, it is possible toset the favor level further reflecting the user's intention.

3-2. Second Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to set thefavor level based on the location of slider St1 operated by the user onthe slider bar S1.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the favor level basedon various gestural operations on the touch screen 14.

For example, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the favor level basedon an operation of a finger touching on the touch screen 14 and thenlightly sweeping (also referred to below as a flick operation).

In this case, the CPU 11 sets the favor level to a positive value whenthe flick operation is performed upward as shown in FIG. 11, and to anegative value when the flick operation is performed downward.

The CPU 11 may be configured to determine the value of the favor levelbased on the distance and the speed of the motion of the finger in theflick operation, i.e., the distance and the speed of the motion of thetouch point. In other words, the CPU 11 increases an absolute value ofthe favor level as the distance of the motion of the touch point islonger and the speed is higher, and decreases the absolute value of thefavor level as the distance of the motion of the touch point is shorterand the speed is lower.

While the CPU 11 keeps setting the favor level to the value based on theflick operation for a predetermined time (for example, ten seconds)after the flick operation is performed, the CPU 11 may be configured toreturn the favor level to the neutral after the predetermined time.

3-3. Third Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to set thefavor level based on the location of the slider St1 operated by the useron the slider bar S1.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the favor level basedon the user operation performed on the graph GL1 (FIGS. 3A and 3B)indicative of the transition of the favor level with respect to eachpredetermined time period.

For example, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the favor level basedon a drag operation performed on the heavy line L1 on the graph GL1 soas to change the favor level.

In this case, when the drag operation is performed on the rightmost end(indicative of the present time) of the heavy line L1 on the graph GL1so as to change the favor level, for example, from “+2” to “0”, the CPU11 sets the favor level at the time point on which the drag operation isperformed to “0”.

Otherwise, the CPU 11 may be configured to display various buttons andicons and set the favor value based on the user operation on the buttonsand icons.

For example, to let the user specify the favor level within a range from“+3” to “−3”, as shown in FIG. 12, the CPU 11 displays favor levelsetting buttons B including seven buttons respectively indicative of“+3”, “+2”, “+1”, “0”, “−1”, “−2”, and “−3” superimposed on themonitoring image Mp.

When the CPU 11 recognizes that, for example, the favor level settingbutton B indicative of “+2” is specified through the touch screen 14,the CPU 11 sets the favor level for the predetermined time period of themoving image from the present time to “+2”.

Furthermore, the CPU 11 may emphasize the favor level setting button Bindicative of the specified value to indicate which value the favorlevel is set to at the present time.

3-4. Fourth Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to set thefavor level with respect to each predetermined time period of the movingimage while recording the moving image.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the favor level withrespect to each predetermined time period of the moving image whilereproducing the moving image.

Otherwise, the CPU 11 may be configured to change the favor level set atthe time of recording the moving image to another value whilereproducing the moving image.

In this case, when the moving image is reproduced, the CPU 11 displaysthe reproduction image Rp on the liquid crystal display 16 as shown inFIG. 13. At the same time, the CPU 11 reads the favor level settinginformation of the corresponding moving image from the moving imagemanagement file, generates a graph GL3 indicative of transition of thefavor level with respect to each predetermined time period based on thefavor level setting information, and displays the graph GL3 superimposedon the reproduction image Rp.

In the graph GL3, like the graph GL1 displayed during the recording ofthe moving image described earlier, the vertical axis indicates thefavor level, the horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time since thestart of the recording of the moving image, and a heavy line L3indicates the transition of the set favor level.

The graph GL3 is also provided with a reproduction bar PB indicative ofthe reproduction point of the moving image, and the reproduction bar PBmoves from the left to the right according to the reproduction of themoving image. Accordingly, the CPU 11 enables the user to see what pointis currently reproduced.

When the user performs a drag operation on the heavy line L3 through thetouch screen 14, the CPU 11 changes the favor level based on the dragoperation.

For example, the heavy line L3 before correction is indicated by adashed line Lr2 in FIG. 13. For example, assume that the favor level ofthe period between elapsed times fifty-five seconds and one minute fiveseconds was set to “+1” before correction.

In this state, the user performs a drag operation to move a point of theheavy line L3 corresponding to the period between elapsed timesfifty-five seconds and one minute five seconds from the favor level “+1”to “+2”.

At this time, the CPU 11 moves the point of the heavy line L3corresponding to the period between the elapsed times fifty-five secondsand one minute five seconds to the location of the favor level “+2” inresponse to the drag operation, and changes the favor level for theperiod between the elapsed times fifty-five seconds and one minute fiveseconds to “+2”.

The CPU 11 then updates the favor level setting information in themoving image management file corresponding to the changed favor level.That is, the CPU 11 stores the new favor level in the storage unit 27 inassociation with the time period corresponding to the new favor level.

Because the user often concentrates on shooting during the shooting ofthe moving image, the user may not often move the slider St1, and theCPU 11 may not be able to set the favor level that satisfies the user'srequest. Therefore, by changing the favor level set at the time ofrecording in response to the user operation when, for example, themoving image is reproduced, the favor level can be set to furthersatisfy the user's request.

3-5. Fifth Modification

In the embodiment described second, the CPU 11 is configured to set asingle person attribute with respect to each predetermined time periodof the moving image.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to set a plurality of piecesof attribute information with respect to each predetermined time periodof the moving image.

For example, the CPU 11 may be configured to set a “Baby A” attributeindicative of an expression of “Baby A” and a “Baby B” attributeindicative of the expression of “Baby B” with respect to eachpredetermined time period of the moving image when the user is taking amoving image of “Baby A” and “Baby B”.

In this case, when the CPU 11 starts recording the moving image, asshown in FIG. 14, the CPU 11 displays a slider bar Sa that allows theuser to select the “Baby A” attribute and a slider bar Sb that allowsthe user to select the “Baby B” attribute superimposed on the monitoringimage Mp.

The slider bars Sa and Sb are respectively provided with a slider Staand a slider Stb capable of moving in the vertical directions inresponse to the user operation through the touch screen 14.

The slider bars Sa and Sb are configured to allow the user to specifythe “Baby A” attribute or the “Baby B” attribute by moving the sliderSta or Stb through the touch screen 14. Specifically, the slider bars Saand Sb are configured to specify any one of, for example, “smile”,“cry”, and “anger” in each of the “Baby A” attribute or the “Baby B”attribute.

It is assumed here that the CPU 11 sets sequentiality of “smile”, “cry”,and “anger” to be, for example, “smile”>“cry”>“anger”. In this case,tick marks respectively indicative of “smile”, “cry”, and “anger” in theorder from the top are displayed on each of the slider bars Sa and Sb.

“Smile” is specified by the user when, for example, “Baby A” or “Baby B”is smiling, “cry” is specified by the user when, for example, “Baby A”or “Baby B” is crying, and “anger” is specified by the user when, forexample, “Baby A” or “Baby B” is angry.

The CPU 11 sets the “Baby A” attribute with respect to eachpredetermined time period of the moving image being recorded based onthe location of the slider Sta on the slider bar Sa. The CPU 11 alsosets the “Baby B” attribute with respect to each predetermined timeperiod of the moving image being recorded based on the location of theslider Stb on the slider bar Sb.

The CPU 11 then generates “Baby A” attribute setting information and“Baby B” attribute setting information including the set “Baby A”attribute and the set “Baby B” attribute associated with the time periodfor which the person attributes are set, respectively, and stores the“Baby A” attribute setting information and the “Baby B” attributesetting information in the moving image management file in the storageunit 27.

The CPU 11 further displays transition of the “Baby A” attribute withrespect to each predetermined time period on the right side of theslider bar Sa in the form of a graph GLa and transition of the “Baby B”attribute with respect to each predetermined time period on the rightside of the slider bar Sb in the form of a graph GLb.

For example, when “Baby A” and “Baby B” are smiling in the monitoringimage Mp, the “Baby A” attribute and the “Baby B” attribute are set to“smile”.

As described above, by associating the “Baby A” attribute and the “BabyB” attribute with each predetermined time period of the moving image,the CPU 11 can reproduce the moving image based on the “Baby A”attribute and the “Baby B” attribute, at the time of reproducing themoving image.

For example, the CPU 11 can extract only the part where the “Baby A”attribute is set to “smile” and the “Baby B” attribute is also set to“smile” from the moving image and reproduce the extracted part of themoving image. As a result, the user can watch the part of the movingimage in which both “Baby A” and “Baby B” are smiling.

As described above, by associating a plurality of pieces of attributeinformation with each predetermined time period of the moving image, atthe time of reproducing the moving image, the CPU 11 can make thedigital image signal processing unit 23 perform the reproduction of themoving image further satisfying various requests of the user.

3-6. Sixth Modification

In the embodiments described above, the CPU 11 is configured to store inthe storage unit 27 the favor level or the person attribute specified bythe user input associated with each predetermined time period of themoving image.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to store in the storage unit27 other various types of attribute information such as an excitationlevel associated with each predetermined time period of the movingimage, as long as the attribute information includes a plurality ofsequential pieces of the attribute information.

3-7. Seventh Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to allow theuser to specify the favorite reproduction threshold at the time ofreproducing the moving image, extract the part where the favor level isset no lower than the favorite reproduction threshold from the movingimage, and reproduce the extracted part of the moving image.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to extract and reproduce,for example, a part of the moving image where the favor level is set nohigher than the favorite reproduction threshold. Otherwise, the CPU 11may be configured to allow the user to specify an arbitrary range of thefavor level to be reproduced, extract the part where the favor level isset within the range from the moving image, and reproduced the extractedpart of the moving image.

3-8. Eighth Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to extractonly the part where the favor level is set no lower than the favoritereproduction threshold specified by the user from the moving image andreproduce the extracted part of the moving image.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to extract parts of themoving image before and after a time point at which the user recorded astill image while recording the moving image or a time point whichincludes a smiling face of a person detected by analyzing the movingimage along with the part where the favor level is set no lower than thefavorite reproduction threshold from the moving image and reproduce theextracted parts of the moving image.

In this case, the digital camera 10 includes a function of recording astill image by a user operation while recording a moving image and afunction of analyzing the moving image by a predetermined analysismethod such as a face recognition process for recognizing a person'sface in the moving image and detecting a smiling face of the person.

3-9. Ninth Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to extractonly the part where the favor level is no lower than the favoritereproduction threshold specified by the user from the moving image andreproduce the extracted part of the moving image.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to extract only parts wherethe favor level is no lower than the favorite reproduction thresholdspecified by the user from the moving image, generate a new moving imageby putting the extracted parts of the moving image together, and storethe new moving image in the storage unit 27 as a moving image file.

In this manner, the CPU 11 can edit the moving image only by letting theuser specify the favorite reproduction threshold, and therefore themoving image can be edited more easily than when, for example, themoving image is edited by letting the user specify an IN point and anOUT point.

3-10. Tenth Modification

In the embodiments described above, the CPU 11 is configured to displaythe slider bar S2 or S4 at the time of reproducing the recorded movingimage, and set the favorite reproduction threshold according to thelocation of the slider St2 or St4 on the slider bar S2 or S4.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the favoritereproduction threshold by letting the user specify the favoritereproduction threshold before reproducing the recorded moving image.

In this manner, the CPU 11 does not display the slider bar S2 or S4superimposed on the reproduction image Rp, and therefore thereproduction image Rp can be more eye-friendly to the user during thefavorite reproduction.

3-11. Eleventh Modification

In the embodiment described first, the CPU 11 is configured to displaythe graph GL1 indicative of the transition of the favor level withrespect to each predetermined time period superimposed on the monitoringimage Mp at the time of recording the moving image.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to hide the graph GL1 ordisplay the graph GL1 only when desired by the user in response to theuser operation. In this manner, the monitoring image Mp can be easilyviewed without the graph GL1.

3-12. Twelfth Modification

In the embodiments described above, the CPU 11 is configured to set theattribute information such as the favor level and the person attributewith respect to each predetermined time period of the recorded movingimage.

Alternatively, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the attributeinformation to other various types of the content as long as the contentare stored in a recording medium.

For example, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the attributeinformation such as the person attribute with respect to eachpredetermined time period of various moving image contents such as amoving image recorded from a television broadcasting.

Furthermore, the CPU 11 may be configured to set the attributeinformation such as the favor level to each predetermined time period ofthe sound content such as music. In this case, the CPU 11 may beconfigured to allow the user to specify the attribute information suchas the favor level with respect to each predetermined time period whileoutputting the sound content from the speaker 28.

3-13. Thirteenth Modification

In the embodiment described first, the computer program for executingthe favor level setting procedure RT1 and the favorite reproductionprocedure RT2 is stored in the ROM 12.

Alternatively, the computer program may be stored in a predeterminedrecording medium such as a memory card, and the CPU 11 may read thecomputer program from the recording medium and execute it. Otherwise,the CPU 11 may download the computer program from a predetermined serveron the Internet and install it in the storage unit 27.

3-14. Fourteenth Modification

In the embodiments described above, the digital camera 10 is providedwith the liquid crystal display 16 and the touch screen 14.

Alternatively, the digital camera 10 may be provided with a liquidcrystal display including a touch screen function instead of the liquidcrystal display 16 and the touch screen 14.

Furthermore, instead of the liquid crystal display 16, various types ofdisplays such as an electroluminescence (EL) display may be used.

3-15. Fifteenth Modification

In the embodiments described above, the digital camera 10 that serves asthe information processing device 1 is provided with the CPU 11 thatserves as the control unit 2 and the reception unit 5, the liquidcrystal display 16 that serves as the output unit 4 and the display unit6, and the touch screen 14 that serves as the reception unit 5. Thedigital camera 10 is also provided with the digital image signalprocessing unit 23 that serves as the reproduction unit 7 as well as thelens unit 19 and the imaging device 21 that serve collectively as theimaging unit 8.

Alternatively, each of the above-described functional units may bereplaced by other various types of hardware or software as long as ithas a similar function.

Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, the digital imagesignal processing unit 23 of the digital camera 10 is configured toperform the reproduction based on the attribute information.Alternatively, the reproduction may be performed by an externalreproduction device based on the attribute information stored in thestorage unit 27.

Moreover, the embodiments of the present invention can be applied notonly to the digital camera but also to other various informationprocessing devices including a personal computer and a personal digitalassistant (PDA) as long as the information processing device has asimilar configuration.

3-16. Sixteenth Modification

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described aboveand the first to fifteenth modifications explained above. The scope ofthe present invention also encompasses an arbitrary combination of, oran extraction of, part or all of the embodiments described above and thefirst to fifteenth modifications explained above. For example, theembodiment described second and the third modification may be combined.

The present application contains subject matter related to thatdisclosed in Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2009-139447 filedin the Japan Patent Office on Jun. 10, 2009, the entire content of whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising:circuitry configured to: set attribute information including discreterating values in stepwise fashion based on a user input, wherein, thediscrete rating values are rating, of content, set during recording ofthe content for each of a plurality of predetermined time periods of thecontent; control a display of the content and of the set attributeinformation for the plurality of predetermined time periods; and set athreshold rating value to control the display of the content, based onanother user input, that includes the plurality of predetermined timeperiods of the content associated with the discrete rating values of theattribute information greater than the threshold rating value.
 2. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thedisplay of the set attribute information comprises a graph indicatingchanges to the set attribute information across the plurality ofpredetermined time periods.
 3. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein the circuitry is configured to set theattribute information based upon a touch operation received as the graphis displayed.
 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim1, wherein the set attribute information is selected from among thediscrete rating values included in the attribute information.
 5. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theplurality of predetermined time periods of the content are contiguoustime periods of the content, and the set attribute information spans thecontiguous time periods of the content.
 6. The information processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured toset the attribute information after the content is recorded in arecording medium.
 7. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 6, further comprising the recording medium.
 8. The informationprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuitry isconfigured to set the attribute information during the display of theplurality of predetermined time periods of the content.
 9. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecircuitry is configured to control the display of each of the pluralityof predetermined time periods of the content based at least in part onthe attribute information set for each of the plurality of predeterminedtime periods of the content.
 10. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control thedisplay so that the plurality of predetermined time periods of thecontent having certain set attribute information are played back. 11.The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thecontent comprises a movie.
 12. The information processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control adisplay of an interface for setting the attribute information for theplurality of predetermined time periods of the content.
 13. Theinformation processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein theinterface is configured to enable a user to set the attributeinformation for the plurality of predetermined time periods of thecontent.
 14. An information processing system, comprising: a firstcircuitry configured to set attribute information including discreterating values in stepwise fashion based on a user input, wherein thediscrete rating values are ratings, of content, set during recording ofthe content for each of a plurality of predetermined time periods of thecontent; a second circuitry configured to control a display of thecontent and of the set attribute information for the plurality ofpredetermined time periods; and a third circuitry configured to set athreshold rating value to control the display of the content, based onanother user input, that includes the plurality of predetermined timeperiods of the content associated with the discrete rating values of theattribute information greater than the threshold rating value.
 15. Aninformation processing method, comprising: setting attribute informationincluding discrete rating values in stepwise fashion based on a userinput, wherein the discrete rating values are ratings, of content, setduring recording of the content for each of a plurality of predeterminedtime periods of the content; storing the set attribute information in atleast one storage facility; controlling a display of the content and ofthe set attribute information for the plurality of predetermined timeperiods; and setting a threshold rating value to control the display ofthe content, based on another user input, that includes the plurality ofpredetermined time periods of the content associated with the discreterating values of the attribute information greater than the thresholdrating value.
 16. At least one non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium having instructions encoded thereon which, when executed in aninformation processing system, cause the information processing systemto perform a method comprising: setting attribute information includingdiscrete rating values in stepwise fashion based on a user input,wherein the discrete rating values are ratings, of content, set duringrecording of the content for each of a plurality of predetermined timeperiods of the content; controlling a display of the content and of theset attribute information for the plurality of predetermined timeperiods; and setting a threshold rating value to control the display ofthe content, based on another user input, that includes the plurality ofpredetermined time periods of the content associated with the discreterating values of the attribute information greater than the thresholdrating value.